It
will take a bit of time to get readjusted to being in California. One
thing is sleep. I woke up around 5 and spent some time trying to get
back to sleep. But I slept until 8-6am Hawaii time. The shower felt
good. Then we then went down for breakfast. Pretty filling with
oatmeal, an egg omelet and pastry. I even indulged in having a box of
chocolate milk-it was very light on the chocolate.
We
will be checking out before 11, then go to the Dalma house to see how
it has changed before heading down to Gilroy so I can pick up some
shoes.Success!
Now my family will not quiz me about when will I get new shoes. It
just was bit more than I have ever paid for a tennis shoe.
We
head over Pacheco Pass and into Los Banos. The pizza place and yogurt
frozen desert shops are gone. So we contented ourselves with a Habit
burger. By the time we get back to Fresno it is about 4:30.
Packing
light, it does not take very long to unpack. Then in a ritual we
picked up in Hawaii, there is the catching of the evening sky as the
sun goes down-Hawaii’s seem to be more spectacular. But this is our
home sky and it seems good just the same.
I
think both Sherri and I were a bit excited about today. Neither of us
slept really well, but got
enough hours to give us rest. We got up around 6:30 and put the
finishing touches on getting ready. Kevin makes it looks like we were
never there-stripping the sheets and arranging the room we slept in
for the guests after he leaves. He is pretty efficient that way.
At
8am, we are being chauffeured by Kevin and David to the Kona airport.
We arrive without incident or seeing a final whale. It has been a
good time in Hawaii. We quickly pass through the TSA line-they have
a new scanner which makes it so you do not have to take anything out
of our backpacks. Makes it so much easier. We wait around for about
45 minutes before boarding our flight.
At
exactly 10:10, our SouthWest flight leaves the gate and we are on our
way back to California. The flight to Honolulu is only about 50
minutes, leaving us about two hours to lounge around. We devour one
of our peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches while we are waiting.
There is a whole long line of people coming into Hawaii having their
COVID status checked.
About
12:30, our group starts boarding and a little after 1pm
we begin a long taxi before taking off. I do a lot of reading during
the flight, finishing up James Lapine’s Putting
It Together
and consuming Michael Lewis’ The
Fifth Risk.
After awhile, I switched to looking and describing the pictures we
have taken over the past ten days. Between David, Sherri and myself,
we took over 350 pictures-a lot less than our Death Valley trip.
Still a substantial number to
go
through.
The
plane lands about half an hour early. That is good. Also when we call
up the parking shuttle, the driver is already at the airport picking
up people. So we get right in and over to our car by 9pm. We take a
round about way to get to the hotel.
We
are back at the Holiday
Inn Express where we stayed before going to Hawaii. Before we
left, David had confirmed that we were getting a king size bed and
that my name would be on it. This did not happen. The person who
checked us in-David had already checked us in. But the hotel did not
have our name. So they called David who authorized us to stay. We got
a room, but instead of a king, there is two queens-not the end of the
earth, just not expected. The darkening curtain would not lower all
the way. Rereading this paragraph, I am being too hard on the hotel.
It is a comfortable room, one which we will sleep well in. It just
was not what we expected after the excellent night we had before
going to Hawaii.
It
is 9pm in Hawaii or 11 in San Jose. So it is time to go to bed.
I got
up at 6:30 and ate breakfast. David made Sherri a croissant and egg
sandwich which she devoured-I
being the stick in the mud have my granola.
We left the condo at 7:30. In Kona, we stop by the Kona
Beach Hostel. David’s friend Paul and his girlfriend Kim
is staying there.
Kevin, Sherri and I talked about the varied COVID responses. Some
seem to be more effective, others less so, depending on ones
philosophy, and then there are the ones which are hypocritical. David
has gone with Paul, so he missed out on this discussion.
Returning from snorkeling
We get to Two
Step around 8:45. This is the first time Paul and Kim
have gone snorkeling, so they get instruction, along with gear from
Kevin’s place. Shortly afterwards we go into the water. Today,
instead of being the clear water like it was Monday and Wednesday,
there is somewhat
limited visibility under the surface-not as bad as it could be. We
can still see lots of fish. We even come across some butter fish.
I turn around and realize that
Kevin, Paul and friend have started in. When David surfaces, I point
to where they are going, so we go on in. It does not seem like
anything is terribly wrong, just the supplied equipment seems to be
not quite right. Paul is willing to go back in, so the four of us go
in. We head back out towards the reed, but on the bay side. Kevin
and David spots an eel and shows Paul and I. There
is always interesting
stuff we see under
water’s surface.
Kevin goes on in, and shortly
afterwards, so do the three of us. We shed our equipment and talk for
awhile at the bench. Paul and Kim
are going to go on to explore the island. We will head back up the
highway. We stop at
Costco. But there is a long, long line to get into the building. We
are not sure why people are not being allowed in. But we decide that
we do not need to go in. And continue on our way to the condo.
The afternoon is spent packing
for tomorrow’s trip. Also David and I exchange pictures. And of
course, we are becoming experts on the Olympic sport of Curling. Also
started reading another Michael Lewis book, The
Fifth Risk. I
figured I needed something on the plane.
I think David and Kevin want
to send us off right. They have made another supremely wonderful
meal-BBQ chicken, veggies, and baked potato. Can it get any better?
Actually yes. Not only that, we packed it all to the beach by Mauna
Lani,resort
called the Puako
Petroglphs Park. Yes there are petroglyphs.
While waiting for the
sunset, we eat
in a little awooded
lcove. A mongoose came
and tries
to join us, but David drove him off. Wonderful time. Then we
got a splendid sunset
to end our last day on
the Big Island.
We came back to the condo,
which is feeling like home these days. We
watched a bit more
Olympics, ate some more of David’s birthday cheese cake. Then went
to bed by 8pm. Tomorrow we leave around 8am.
I think I may be a bit
apprehensive about going to Puako
again-David and Kevin
may be a bit as well
First beach entrance at Puako
.
Last night’s sleep was a bit interrupted. But I still got about 8
hours of sleep and an hour more of laying in bed. Also before going
to Puako, I felt a bit jittery. Taking my blood sugar reading it is
low. So I start scarfing up a mochi,
then some macadamia nut cookies and a glass of milk.
By the time we get to Puako, I
am OK blood sugar wise-we
will see how my mind works when my toes touch the water.
But when we get to the first beach access, there seems to be some
pretty rough water out there. Everybody is more cautious after last
time, so we do not go into the water here. But we continue on down to
an access spot close to the Catholic
Church.
At first, the waters seem to be acceptable, but then on a closer
look, there was rough water with even bigger waves. So snorkeling
today is a scratch.
David and the malasadas
We head back to the condo,
where we have breakfast. Then we pack up to head over to the eastern
side of the island. We go through Waimea again-we got our ice cream
here earlier. Then on to Tex
Drive-In. This was on our list of places to go. Why you might
ask? For the malasadas,
of course! Not only that, Kevin notes that we on a select items, if
you buy a lunch, you will get a second one free. So we get a
hamburger Loco-Moco(after reading the
background, I might not have ordered :-)
(Kevin gets two beef curry stew rice bowls.) The Loco-Moco is OK,
nothing compared to the malasada.
Waipo'o Overlook
We then take off to the
Waipi’o
Overlook. It is
only about a twenty minute drive. The view, as we have been here
before, is really awesome. You look up the coast-this is where they
filmed parts of Waterworld.
Then looking up the Waipi’o
Valley is good, with its lushness. We spend about 25 minutes just
gazing on this.
Brothers: David and Gary
And then we return back to the
condo by 12:30. While I do not think I have done much today, I am
tired, so I go upstairs to take a nap. Then I work on getting my
questions organized for tonight’s book group. I come down around 3
and putter around for awhile-watch a bit of the Olympics. Sherri has
gone out for a swim in the pool. Around 4pm, Sherri and I have the
second Loco-Moco bowl. The bowl is a bit degraded, but still edible.
And then 5pm comes around; 7pm
PST. Our book group gets started and we talk about Michael Lewis’
book, The
Premonition.
Sherri and I are on Zoom, most of the rest of the group is in person.
It works out fairly decently-just
a bit hard to guide the discussion remotely.
Kevin and David take off to give us some space-there is not too much
private which is said in book group. We end up at 7pm after a good
and vibrant discussion.
David and Kevin come back a
bit later. I think we are all ready for bed. Tomorrow is our last
full day on the Big Island. I suspect my body is ready for a return
to my ordinary life. Still it is a place I enjoy and I hope to enjoy
this last day as well.
Today is David's birthday. it
is good to have him as a brother, not only for having us on this trip
and for taking care of me yesterday. but for all of the times before
where we have bonded.
It
is not just because of being family, but we do enjoy each other. This
really started when he was in college and has continued on through
his time in Colorado, moving back to Mountain View as our Mom
declined and now with his current
iteration in Eureka. So good to have him.
Today we left the condo at 8am
and headed south back to Two
Step. I wanted to get back in the water after yesterday and
figured that Two Step is a safe to go. Even though the water gets
immediately deep, you have to be either near shore or the reef to hit
ground. Not only that it is a wonder to look down into.
Kevin, David and I take off
into the middle of the bay, looking at all sorts of rocks and
crevices for life. The coral looks like it is making a comeback.
While the fish do not seem as plentiful as they were Monday, they are
still good to look at.
We head over beyond the reef,
into the open ocean. I think I was still concerned after yesterday.
The waves were awesome breaking
onto the reef. David and Kevin got close, I stayed away. But the fish
life was not as interesting as Monday out here. So we looked around
for about 15 minutes and then headed back into the bay.
About this time, Kevin was
ready to go back in. David and I just zig zag around looking at
interesting life for about another 20 minutes before we went headed
in. David found an eel hiding just a little ways from the entry
point. We then climbed onto the rocks out of the water.
Costco Cheesecake
On the way back to the condo,
Kevin phoned Don-another Eureka buddy. He and his wife were glad to
hear from us, wishing David a happy birthday. Also they praised God
that yesterday David and Kevin had been there to pull me past the rip
tide. We stopped at Costco for some more groceries=Sherri
and I stayed in the car. Then off to the condo.
Turf and Surf
We had David’s dinner at
lunch time. David got to fix his own dinner of steak and shrimp. Good
stuff. Then it was rest time-I took a nap for awhile. Then came down
and watched the Olympics with David-he had gone for a walk while I
was napping.
At 5, we went on our family
Zoom time. It was good to hear from all three kids. In the middle, we
ate a slice of birthday Costco cheesecake. Then went to watch the
sunset. Beautiful place by the Lava
Lava club. Then back to the condo for more Olympics and hitting
the bed by 8:30.
Today was an exciting day,
while much of the day was good, there was a period of distress and
grave concern.
I got up a little after 7am. I
then had breakfast before heading out to Puako
for a morning snorkel. We went to the south beach access, which
is really the first access to the beach.
The ocean looked a bit choppy, but manageable. So we headed out into.
The first thing which David sees when he sticks his head in the water
is a Green Sea Turtle. Exciting. Then Kevin sees another one, which I
manage to get a video of. So far pretty good.
When
I look to find Kevin and David, they are well out into the water,
swimming around. So I start swimming towards them. Sort of
surprisingly enough, I make it out to them quicker than I thought I
was going to. My snorkel is getting a bit of water in it, but I am
cleaning it out OK.
Then Kevin comes by and says
he is going in. But David is still out there, so I hesitate for a few
minutes on going in. But then David starts to come in as well. So I
turn around and head in. We had just gotten out beyond the reefs and
there is a channel which allows us into the inner part of the area
where the shallower water is. But as I go through the channel, I am
being pushed back out into the bay. Not only that, I am getting
caught up in the swells. David and Kevin say that they can see my
body being tossed up on the crest of waves-that may be why I am
sucking water through my snorkel.
Waiting for Mountain Thunder tour
Before I know it, David is by
my side, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards shore. Kevin joins
him and helps me as well. Between the two of them, they are able to
get me through the channel and out of the wave action. I can feel my
breathing being very rapid and not very good. But fortunately I have
not swallowed a lot of water. Once we get to calmer waters they check
me out and we all start heading towards shore.
It was pretty tense, Kevin was
the one who raised the alarm with my brother that I was in trouble.
When we got back to the car and were able to shed our snorkeling
gear, we were able to express relief that we all made it out OK.
After comparing notes, we realized that besides the choppy water, we
were also fighting a receding high tide. As David said, not a major
drop between tides,
but still enough to make it beyond my abilities.
Mountain Thunder
We got back to the condo,
relieved. We rest for a little while, then head into Kona to Ross.
We pick up some Hawaiian clothing-discounted because we are
seniors-Yeah! It is good to be old, and today, alive and well. Then
we head up the mountain to a coffee plantation called Mountain
Thunder. Sherri buys a bag of their coffee. At 11:30, we take a
half an hour tour of the processing part of the plant, getting an
explanation of the processing of coffee beans, which are not beans.
Interesting even for a non-coffee drinker such as me. We
Pine Tree Cafe-Kevin, Sherri and Gary
all
have lunch at Pine
Tree Cafe again. Always a good choice, then head back to the
condo for a bit of rest.
At 2:00pm, Kevin drives us
north along the coast. Several whale spouts are spotted. There was
also a small brush fire completed with three engines and crews,
police and an ambulance. A helicopter was dropping water on the fire.
Looks like it was down by the ocean.
Picnic area at Kapa'a SP with Sherri, David and Kevin
Kevin pulls us into a state
park at Kapa’a
State Beach.
Several other groups are there as well to observe whales. None of us
are disappointed as we spot one maybe a couple hundred yards or
farther off shore. Then
the big attraction happens out towards the horizon. A huge
whale is laying around out there, splashing I assume for our
entertainment. Wonderful.
Ocean view from Kapa'a
We turn around and drive back
home. We see several other spouts on our way back. Dinner is pulled
pork-our second time. Still very good. Then we head on over to the
beach by the Lava
Lava Club. We arrive about 20 minutes before sunset and just
mosey down the beach, away from most of the people. Even here, we see
a whale spout in the distance. And then the sun sets, deep into the
ocean, turning the sky into orange. A wonderful view.
Sunset
When we get back to the condo,
we spend a little while watching the Olympics before going to bed.
